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“In all hard work there is profit,
but the talk of the lips leads only to poverty.”
— Proverbs 14:23
“The plans of the diligent surely lead to profit;
and everyone who is hasty surely rushes to poverty.”
— Proverbs 21:5
Let us look at what the Word of God says.
These two verses, echoed in your song, present one of the most neglected spiritual laws in Scripture: God has joined profit to diligence, and poverty to empty talk and haste. These are not merely moral sayings or good advice. They are spiritual principles built into the very order of God’s creation.
Many believers pray for blessing, abundance, increase, and fruitfulness. Yet they ignore or violate the very conditions God has laid down for such blessing to manifest in their lives. These proverbs expose a fundamental issue of the heart: Do we align our daily work, our planning, and our lifestyle with God’s wisdom, or do we live by impulse, passivity, and empty words?
The message of this song is simple but searching:
This is not only about money. It includes every area of life: spiritual growth, ministry, relationships, character, and destiny.
Both Proverbs 14:23 and 21:5 come from the Book of Proverbs, largely attributed to King Solomon, to whom God gave exceptional wisdom.
Solomon did not write as a philosopher speculating about life. He wrote as a king under covenant with the LORD, teaching Israel how to live in the fear of the Lord and in alignment with divine order.
### The Setting of Proverbs
Proverbs is part of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. It is intensely practical. It answers questions like:
Israel was called to be a covenant people, visibly different from the nations. Their daily life—family, work, business dealings—was meant to reflect the righteousness and order of God. Proverbs applies the fear of the Lord to ordinary decisions.
> “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
> but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
> — Proverbs 1:7
In that setting, laziness, empty talk, and impulsive behavior were not treated merely as bad habits. They were manifestations of folly, which is rebellion against the wisdom of God.
So when Solomon says:
he is not just observing life. He is teaching covenant principles. If Israel would walk in diligence, careful planning, and responsible labor, they would experience God’s intended blessing. If they would instead give themselves to talk, fantasy, and haste, they would experience poverty—material, moral, and spiritual.
Proverbs 14 and 21 sit within repeated contrasts:
Your song simply repeats these verses, but these repetitions are a form of meditation—speaking the Word again and again until it shapes our thinking and behavior.
To grasp the force of these verses, we need to examine two key Hebrew words:
1. The word translated “hard work” / “labor.”
2. The word translated “diligent.”
### 1. “Hard Work” – עִצָּבוֹן / עָמָל / יָגִיעַ (Related Ideas)
The expression in Proverbs 14:23 is:
> “בְּכָל־עֶצֶב יִהְיֶה מוֹתָר…”
> “In all labor (or painful effort) there is profit…”
The word עֶצֶב (*‘etsev*) carries the thought of toil, painful effort, labor with cost or strain. It is not casual activity. It suggests work that costs you something—energy, comfort, time, convenience.
This immediately corrects a shallow idea many believers have:
If something is God’s will, it will always be easy, automatic, costless.
Scripture says the opposite. Real fruit, real profit, usually involves ‘etsev—costly effort.
This helps us understand the lyric:
> “In all hard work there is profit…”
The promise is not attached to mere “activity,” but to costly, committed labor—work that presses past comfort.
### 2. “Diligent” – חָרוּץ (*charuts*)
In Proverbs 21:5 we read:
> “מַחְשְׁבוֹת חָרוּץ אַךְ לְמוֹתָר…”
> “The plans of the diligent surely lead to profit…”
The word חָרוּץ (*charuts*) is rich in meaning. It can mean:
The picture is of a person whose life is not vague or scattered, but sharp and decisive—a person who cuts a straight path and follows it through.
So “the diligent” are not merely “busy” people. They are:
This is strengthened by the word “מַחְשְׁבוֹת” (*machshevot*)—“plans, thoughts, designs.” Diligence is not just working hard; it is thinking carefully, planning wisely, and then following through persistently.
Your lyric:
> “The plans of the diligent surely lead to profit…”
becomes more powerful when we understand *charuts*: God is promising that careful, decisive, persevering planning will, as a rule, produce increase.
By contrast, we have:
> “everyone who is hasty surely rushes to poverty.”
“Hasty” here is the person who acts rashly, without thought, always chasing shortcuts, quick fixes, emotional impulses. There is no *charuts*—no sharp, stable, disciplined direction.
Now we will walk through the song’s lines and relate each statement to the wider teaching of Scripture.
### A. “In all hard work there is profit…”
This is a universal principle: in all hard work. Not just in spiritual work. All legitimate labor, done in righteousness, has built into it a principle of increase.
but he who follows frivolity will have poverty enough!”
— Proverbs 28:19
God has arranged creation so that faithful labor produces increase. This is not legalism; this is design.
The New Testament confirms this:
— Colossians 3:23–24
— 2 Thessalonians 3:10
Paul did not separate spirituality from work. He labored with his own hands as a tentmaker (Acts 18:3) and set himself as an example of diligence.
So we need to correct a false spirituality:
Some want to pray much but work little. Scripture does not support that. Prayer does not replace obedience to the law of labor; it empowers it.
“In all hard work there is profit” includes:
Wherever you apply consistent, righteous effort under God’s authority, He has ordained profit—advancement, fruit, growth, increase.
### B. “…but the talk of the lips leads only to poverty.”
Here we meet the contrast: hard work vs empty talk.
The phrase “talk of the lips” points to wordiness without action. Plans that never become deeds. Excuses, boasting, “one day I will…”—but nothing changes.
Scripture has much to say about this type of talk:
but idle chatter leads only to poverty.”
— Proverbs 14:23 (NKJV)
but he who restrains his lips is wise.”
— Proverbs 10:19
— 1 John 3:18 (ESV)
There is a spiritual law here: Words without obedience harden the heart. They create an illusion of spirituality or commitment, while the character remains unchanged.
Many live in a “talk Christianity”:
Such talk leads to “poverty”—not only financial, but spiritual:
God does not reward religious speech; He rewards obedient action based on faith.
### C. “The plans of the diligent surely lead to profit…”
Notice the combination: plans and diligent.
This denies two false extremes:
1. The person who plans but never works.
2. The person who works but never plans.
Both are ineffective.
Biblical diligence begins with thoughtful planning before God. The diligent:
> “Commit your works to the LORD,
> and your thoughts will be established.”
> — Proverbs 16:3
God is not against planning. He is against self-sufficient planning that excludes Him. But Godly planning, submitted to Him, “surely leads to profit.” This is a strong expression of certainty.
This applies to:
The diligent person does not wait for life to “happen.” He or she receives wisdom from God and structures life accordingly.
### D. “…and everyone who is hasty surely rushes to poverty.”
Haste is the enemy of diligence. Haste is not speed; it is impulsiveness—acting without sufficient thought, counsel, or testing.
Scripture constantly warns against haste:
and he sins who hastens with his feet.”
— Proverbs 19:2
but the prudent considers well his steps.”
— Proverbs 14:15
The hasty person:
Notice the verse says “surely” (אַךְ *ach* – indeed, certainly) “to poverty.” There is a spiritual certainty in this. Haste is often driven by:
This is why many get ensnared in debt, bad partnerships, shallow relationships, and spiritual deceptions. They are not careful; they are hasty.
So your lyric, repeated, presses this home:
> “The plans of the diligent surely lead to profit;
> and everyone who is hasty surely rushes to poverty.”
You are either living by diligent planning or by hasty impulse. There is no middle ground for long. And each path has a clearly stated outcome.
### E. The Repetition in the Lyrics
Your song repeats the same lines. This is not redundancy. It resembles meditation as Scripture describes it:
and in His law he meditates day and night.”
— Psalm 1:2
The Hebrew word for “meditate” (הָגָה *hagah*) can mean to mutter, speak under the breath, repeat. You are doing that: repeating the words until they move from your mind into your habits.
As these lines are confessed and sung:
We must not only agree with these verses; we must obey them. Here are four practical steps—each can also be turned into a proclamation.
### 1. Acknowledge God’s Law of Diligence and Profit
First, we must accept that God has joined profit to diligence and poverty to empty talk and haste. This is not “capitalist thinking” or mere common sense; this is Scripture.
Action:
Proclamation:
> “Lord, I acknowledge that in all hard work there is profit and that empty talk and haste lead to poverty. I submit my thinking about work, planning, and profit to Your Word.”
### 2. Replace Empty Talk with Obedient Action
Second, we must confront the “talk of the lips” in our own lives.
Ask:
Action:
For example:
Proclamation:
> “By the grace of God, I renounce empty religious talk. I choose to be a doer of the Word and not a hearer only, deceiving myself.”
### 3. Practice Diligent Planning Before God
Third, we must learn to plan with the Lord.
Planning is not unbelief; it is stewardship. But it must be done in dependence on the Holy Spirit.
Action:
Scripture to stand on:
> “Commit your works to the LORD,
> and your thoughts will be established.”
> — Proverbs 16:3
Proclamation:
> “Lord, I commit my works to You. Direct my plans. Make my thoughts firm and established according to Your wisdom. Let the plans of diligence in my life lead to the profit You intend.”
### 4. Renounce Haste and Cultivate Patient Perseverance
Fourth, we must deal ruthlessly with haste—impulsive, impatient decision-making.
Action:
Proclamation:
> “In the name of Jesus, I renounce haste and impulsiveness. I choose to walk in the wisdom that is from above—pure, peaceable, gentle, and willing to yield. I will not rush into poverty through hasty decisions.”
### Proclamation of Faith
Say this aloud, slowly and deliberately, as an act of alignment with God’s Word:
> **I proclaim that in all hard work there is profit, because God has ordained increase to follow diligent labor.
> I renounce the talk of the lips that leads only to poverty—religious words without obedient action.
> I declare that the plans of the diligent, submitted to the Lord, surely lead to profit in every area of life.
> I renounce haste, impulsiveness, and the love of shortcuts.
> I choose diligence, careful planning, and faithful perseverance.
> I will work as unto the Lord and not unto men, knowing that from the Lord I will receive the reward of the inheritance.
> By the grace of God, I refuse poverty of spirit, character, or provision caused by laziness, empty talk, or haste.
> I align my work, my words, my plans, and my pace with the wisdom of God.
> In Jesus’ name, amen.**
### Prayer
“Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I thank You for the clarity of Your Word. You have said that in all hard work there is profit, and that the plans of the diligent surely lead to profit. I confess that in many ways I have sinned through laziness, through empty talk, and through haste. I ask You to forgive me and to cleanse me from these patterns.
Holy Spirit, You are the Spirit of wisdom and understanding. Come and renew my mind. Teach me to value work as You do. Teach me to plan under Your guidance and to persevere in what You have shown me. Deliver me from the fear and impatience that produce hasty decisions. Deliver me from deception that hides in religious words without obedience.
Lord Jesus, I present to You my daily work, my finances, my ministry, my relationships, and my time. I place them under Your lordship. Let the law of diligence and profit that You have written in Your Word be manifested in my life for Your glory. Make me faithful, consistent, and fruitful. Let others see in me the testimony of a life ordered by the wisdom of God.
I receive Your grace to do, not just to hear. I receive strength to labor and not to faint. I receive wisdom to plan and courage to persevere. I thank You that as I walk in Your ways, You will establish the work of my hands.
In the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.”
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